The Heritage Conservation Society

By Paulo Alcazaren
The Philippine STAR 12/03/2005

Philippine
architecture is the least documented of our arts. Philippine painting,
sculpture, music and theater have been studied, recorded, collected,
and archived. Most importantly, art criticism has thrived as part of
the process of evolving Philippine art and keeping it relevant to our
culture. Books on Philippine art are produced yearly, covering past
masters as well as showcasing new talent. Our schools train artists and
performers who benefit from this wealth of knowledge, continuing
research and publication. Philippine art is alive, kicking and making
waves well beyond our shores.

The same has not been true of Philippine architecture. Less
than a dozen books on the subject have been printed in the last 100
years (many of them slim monographs and only two covering the entire
range of Philippine architecture). A new book, just launched at the
Cultural Center of the Philippines, hopes to fill this gap, so that our
architecture may evolve without losing its cultural soul or its
contemporary relevance.

Philippine Heritage Architecture: Before 1521 to the 1970s
authored by Maria Cristina Valera-Turalba (with an introduction by Dr.
Jaime C. Laya) is the light at the end of our architectural tunnel.
ArchitectTuralba, an associate professor at the College of Architecture
in the University of the Philippines and head of the Sentro ng Arkitekturang Filipino
of the United Architects of the Philippines, has always been an
advocate of heritage conservation. She has, and continues to be,
instrumental in many heritage-related initiatives at the UAP, through
the NCCA and even internationally via the Union Internationale des Architectes (UIA), where she is working on the nomination of Batanes as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The book is the product of over five years of research. The
documentation of heritage architecture was an idea broached earlier by
Dr. Jaime C. Laya to Arch. Turalba. It was finally taken up by the NCCA
and UAP under its president, then Arch. Hedy Luis, and pursued by
succeeding UAP heads. Arch. Turalba was the implementing executive and
rallied a team of UAP members and tireless heritage advocates to comb
the entire archipelago, eventually documenting 1,500 structures in 16
regions.

The project was completed in 2004, but Turalba continued with
the project (with the sole sponsorship of the real-estate company
Active Group Inc., headed by Arch. Tony Turalba) to turn the raw
documentation into a book that would benefit students of Philippine
architecture, practicing professionals and the general public – that
until now had little access and little appreciation for over half a
millennia of architectural heritage literally sitting in their
backyards.

The project and the book could not have come at a more
crucial time. As Turalba reports, "The sad fact is, of the structures
documented in the database… 35 percent have already been
cannibalized, or defaced beyond recognition, or demolished…"

Aside from this continuing destruction, there is a more
insidious malaise that afflicts and threatens Philippine architecture.
Turalba points out that we have entered what architectural critic Fr.
Bobby Perez calls a "post-Filipino" period, referring to the fact that
many of the modern skyscrapers and building complexes built in the
Philippines in the last decade were not the product of Filipino
architects but foreign designers.

In the boom years of the ’90s, Philippine architecture took a
step back as clients and the public began putting more value on designs
created abroad than those produced by local architects. The Asian
downturn thankfully put a damper on this propensity to "brand"
architecture with a foreign label. Today, with the real estate market
slowly coming back, there is worrying evidence that we may lapse back
into this colonial mentality that foreign is better.

The book aims to counter this disturbing scenario. It aims to
provide a sourcebook of architectural heritage to provide inspiration,
as Dr. Laya states in his introduction, "to (Filipino) architects,
owners, and developers to more fully understand Philippine
architectural heritage and rise to the challenges of adaptive re-use
and creative design in a distinctively Filipino architectural style."
This distinctiveness and cultural specificity can mitigate the more
adverse effects of globalization and foreign architectural hegemony.

The book’s featured structures are organized chronologically
in periods – vernacular (pre-Hispanic), Spanish colonial, American
colonial, and 20th century. Its 196 pages are filled with images and
information, much of which will redefine the richness and diversity of
Philippine architecture for most readers. From the Ijangs –
ancient pre-16th-century fortifications – to magnificent brick and
stone cathedrals, to the Art Deco mansions of Iloilo, the structures in
the book amaze, delight, and enlighten.

Turalba says that this book is just the "tip of the iceberg"
and that hopefully means that more books are on the way. A new
generation of culturally-sensitive architects is also coming up to help
advocates like her to continue the fight to preserve our built
heritage. Organizations like the Heritage Conservation Society are also
working hand in hand with members of the UAP and other professional and
cause-oriented groups to address the continuing loss (estimated by some
to be one heritage structure a week).

We do not have to turn our sights (and pocketbooks) overseas
for architecture that will be true to our culture, reflect our passion
or validate our modernity. All we need to pursue is scholarship in
architectural history, theory, and criticism. This should be based on a
conserved treasure of heritage architecture, the likes of which this
book is based on. Secondly, all we have to do is mine the sustainable
resource of our own creative talent and evolve our architecture based
on this body of knowledge. Finally, what we can look forward to, if we
do all this, is a future where our structures can help build better
communities, house our ever-growing population and ultimately shelter a
robust national identity.

Philippine Heritage Architecture: Before 1521 to the 1970s, authored
by Maria Cristina Valera-Turalba (with an introduction by Jaime C.
Laya) is available at major bookstores. Feedback is welcome. E-mail the
writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com.

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